I was searching the web for something else and found this article on the burn done at Camp Robinson (now Lake Conway WMA). It was even bigger than we knew and I certainly wish we hadn't been there during it.
I acknowledge that they certainly needed to burn the Prairie areas, partly to limit the growth of sweet gum and other highly invasive plants. I commend them for this difficult but important work. I just wish a month later would have worked for this schedule. It was difficult to deal with.
Big, beautiful burn sparks new growth for prairie habitat on Camp Robinson SUA • Arkansas Game & Fish Commission
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Big, beautiful burn sparks new growth for prairie habitat on Camp Robinson SUA • Arkansas Game & Fish Commission
Get caught up on Big, beautiful burn sparks new growth for prairie habitat on Camp Robinson SUA from the AGFC.
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Patty
On Fri, Aug 7, 2026 at 5:03 PM, Patricia McLean<plm108...> wrote: Now that we have a paying voice with AGFC, there are some things we can/should address with their leadership, beginning with habitat issues.
Many WMA managers have been doing an excellent job in many areas where habitat improvements are possible. Kudos to them for these much-needed and deeply appreciated efforts.
However, one area that has seen significant improvement but also has some much-needed reform is the Camp Robinson portion of the newly named Lake Conway WMA in Faulkner County. Michael Linz and I were there last month and again a few days ago. We found several large areas that were being burned. All the butterfly and pollinator plants we had previously seen were completely destroyed. And why? What purpose could possibly be more important than supporting our highly valued pollinators? A rampant disease, perhaps? Well maybe. But I suspect this burn had to do with quail, which they have managed here for years. And while we love quail, we cannot put them above other native, non-invasive species, particularly those that provide tremendous benefits up and down the food chain.
When we were there last month, they had just recently torn out lush habitat in some green spaces. During breeding season! I can't even begin to tell you how disturbing this was to see.
I thought these people were biologists, and perhaps they are, but obviously they care very little for the other species that depend on specific habitats to successfully raise their young.
Why were these removal activities being done during the breeding season!?! I would have much less issue with them taking out some of these thickets during other times of the year but absolutely not during breeding season nor when the butterflies and other pollinators need these resources to sustain their populations. No. No. No. And no exception.
One additional issue about the burning that has repeatedly been brought to their attention: these burns are conducted so frequently that the Bachman's Sparrow, which used to breed here, is now likely extirpated. We have searched and searched for them in all the various habitats over the last several years where we once found them, and now nothing. Not a single one. Bachman's Sparrows need fire in the landscape but much less frequently than "Camp" management is scheduling. This needs to change.
On a positive (but also sad) note, they have made significant and important improvements to the natural landscape here, which has allowed a plethora of lovely native, flowering plants to thrive. Before the fire, we saw numerous fields filled with butterfly weed, rattlesnake master, rosepink, Prairie coreopsis, mountain mints, meadowbeauty, ironweed, and verbena, not to mention a variety of sunflowers. We also found a few wooly rosemallows with several tunnel bees feeding on them, covered in pollen. Every single cluster is now burned to a crisp, leaving nothing for pollinators.
It's difficult to comprehend why this needs to happen this time of year and why so frequently. Surely there is a better procedure to sustain the entirety of species and not just the quail.
We have every reason to expect to be heard now and taken seriously. I know that some of you on this listserv work for AGFC and are already aware of these problems. Please help us correct this to favor a variety of other iconic species beyond quail.
Thank you for listening and let's all pray that these harmful practices cease. Our state lands are for all of us to enjoy. Let's make sure that's the case by letting our voices be heard.
Patty McLean and Michael Linz Conway Arkansas
